In the stands of stadiums as in the streets of the Qatari capital, the world football festival turns into fraternal reunion between the peoples of the Levant, the Maghreb and the Gulf, too often separated by borders and conflicts.
by Benjamin Barthe (Special Envoy to Doha)
A tide of supporters in a red jersey swear on the alleys of the Souk Waqif, the central market of Doha. Flag of the Moroccan kingdom in hand, they come to celebrate the unexpected victory of their team, Sunday, November 27, on the Belgian selection. “Earthquake, earthquake, our greetings to everyone Arab”, swarm the fans, in a thunder of youyous and applause.
As the heroes of the day Slaloment between the terraces of restaurants and cafes bordering the souk, a tourist high place, the procession grows and turns into a euphoric melee, from where other banners arise, in colors of Palestine, Egypt and Saudi Arabia. “It is the Arab Union here, all the peoples of the region are present,” exclaims Khadija, 35, computer engineer in Casablanca, a Palestinian flag on the back. “Today, I am Moroccan, a few days ago, when they beat Argentina I was Saudi, and perhaps tomorrow I will be Tunisian,” added Abdallah, a Kuwaiti official.
Even if it makes room for all nationalities, the Qatari World Cup has an indisputable Arab fragrance. The neighbors of Qatar, Saudis in the first place, but also Emiratis, Kuwaitus and Omanais landed en masse in the gas peninsula, by plane or by car. Evidenced by the scent of Oud and Bakhour, two very popular amber fragrances in the Gulf, which hover in the spans of the souk or certain chic Doha shops.
family reunion
Qataris nationals have obviously bought places, but they constitute only 10 % of the three million inhabitants of the emirate and some of them, fearing the traffic jams or an overly violent crop shock, took advantage of The closing of schools to go abroad. On the other hand, the tens of thousands of Arab residents of the monarchy, a pole of professional attraction of the region, rushed on the ticket office and took the opportunity to bring family members.
“I hadn’t seen my mother for seven years and my sister for eleven years,” said Hamza, the Syrian director of a television channel funded by Qatar, who works between Istanbul and Doha. The Hayya card, which acts as a visa for ticket holders, allowed them both to go to the emirate, via Beirut, something impossible in normal times. “We spent the first two days crying on sofas, this reunion was too emotional. Unfortunately, my brother, who lives in Austria, failed to get the Hayya.”
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